Scholars
Cohort 9
Bridge Scholar: Darriel Andabati-Eyaa
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Xiaoyu Xue
Thesis Topic: Mechanisms of human ZGRF1 helicase in replication fork protection and R-loop resolution
Cohort 8
Ayyam Ibrahim
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Karen Lewis
Thesis Topic: Validation of enriched sequence motifs as ligands for the RNA binding protein LaRP6
Nakya Mesa-Diaz
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Liqin Du
Thesis Topic: Developing miR-506-3p analogs with enhanced differentiation-inducing activity
Mitchell Myhre
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Sean Kerwin
Thesis Topic: Intermolecular Interactions of G-triplex DNA
Marc Rodriguez
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Sean Kerwin
Thesis Topic: Sequence effects and ligand selectivity in targeting non-canonical DNA structures
Tionna Scott
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Sean Kerwin
Thesis Topic: N-Alkynylazoles as amide coupling reagents
Cohort 7
Pete Camacho
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Steve Whitten
Thesis Topic: Conformational preferences of the charged amino acids in intrinsically disordered proteins
Jesse Durham
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Xiaoyu Xue
Thesis Topic: Function of Mte1 on Rad51-made D-loop formation in budding yeast
Victoria Parra
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Alexander Kornienko
Thesis Topic: Innovative Compounds for Overcoming Antibiotic Resistance
Diego Valdez-Oranday
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Kevin Lewis
Thesis Topic: Development of new assays for assessment of DNA double-strand break repair in Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Cohort 6
Breana Laguera
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Alexander Kornienko
Thesis Topic: Novel Neuroblastoma Differentiating Agents
Alejandro Oviedo
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Liqin Du
Thesis Topic: Characterizing the activity of three novel differentiation-inducing compounds in neuroblastoma cells.
Elisia Ari Paiz
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Steve Whitten
Thesis Topic: Defining the conformational bias in the denatured states of proteins
Cohorts 1-5
| Student | Research Mentor | Cohort | Thesis Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| Melissa Carrizales | Dr. Karen Lewis | 5 | Divergence of RNA binding domains in vertebrate LARP6 proteins |
| Rebecca Marks | Dr. Ron Walter | 5 | Gene expression analysis in the skin of male Xiphophorus couchianus at varying wavelengths of light (50 nm ranges) |
| Taryn Olivas | Dr. Ron Walter | 5 | Using specific light wavebands to modulate biochemical pathways in skin and liver of zebrafish (Danio rerio |
| Elisa Ari Paiz | Dr. Steve Whitten | 5 | Defining the conformational bias in the denatured states of proteins |
| George Parra | Dr. Steve Whitten | 5 | Phosphorylation effects on hydrodynamic size in intrinsically disordered proteins |
| Brandie Taylor | Dr. Sean Kerwin | 5 | Glucuronide prodrug synthesis and attachment of cytotoxic nature product |
| Ellysa Vogt | Dr. Ron Walter | 5 | Genetic responses from Danio rerio organs in situ after exposure to 4,100K fluorescent light |
| Keith Garcia | Dr. Ron McClean | 4 | A meta-genomic approach to bacterial communication in aquatic environments |
| Trevor Gonzalez | Dr. Ron Walter | 4 | Kinetics of fluorescent light-induced modulation of global gene expression profiles in various organs of zebrafish |
| Geraldo Medrano | Dr. Liquin Duu | 4 | Determining the Role of ATP6V0E1 of the Vacuolar-ATPase in Regulating Neurobastoma Cell Survival and Differentiation |
| Eleuterio Pena | Dr. Karen Lewis | 4 | Structural and Biochemical Characterization of Domains in the Posttranscriptional Regulator LARP6 |
| Oluwatoyosi Adewunmi | Dr. Rachel Booth | 3 | Indentification of accessory proteins that impact the expression of the epithelial sodium channel |
| Francisco Betancourt | Dr. Karen Lewis | 3 | Recombinant expression and purification of LARP6 proteins from Arabidopsis thaliana |
| Taylor Dismuke | Dr. Rachel Booth | 3 | Identification of critical residues in the extra cellular domain of beta epithelial sodium channels |
| Ben Ricard | Dr. Steve Whitten | 3 | Investigating the site-specific effects of proline to glycine substitutions on the hydrodynamic radius of intrinsically disordered proteins |
| Eliseo Salas | Dr. Karen Lewis | 3 | Characterization of ligand specificity of the RNA-binding protein LARP6 |
| Jose Castro | Dr. Karen Lewis | 2 | Biochemical analsyis of evolutionarily divergent vertebrate LARP6 Proteins |
| Elia Lopez | Nihal Dharm | 2 | Characterization of IBR5-ROP GTPase (ROP2/ROP6) Interaction in Plant Auxin Response |
| Christopher D. Munoz | Dr. Tania Betancourt | 2 | Synergistic targeting of nanoparticles to cancer cell by utilizing multiple targeting agents |
| Angelica Riojas | Drs. Karen Lewis and Ron Walter | 2 | Roles of genes affecting telomere lengths, nucleosome remodeling, and cell cycle checkpoints in maintenance of chromosome stability in yeast yku70 mutants |
| Kaela Caballero | Dr. Ron Walter | 1 | Differential Gene Expression in the Skin of Xiphophorus Maculitus JP 163 B in Response to Full Specturm (10,000 K) Fluorescent Light |
| Romel Perez | Dr. Steve Whitten | 1 | Contributions of Alanine Residues to the Hydrodynamic Radius of p53 |
| Blanca Rodriguez | Drs. Karen Lewis and Corina Maeder | 1 | Investigation of the binding affinity of RNA molecules for hydrotalcite and montmorillonite as potential RNAi therapy delivery systems |